Rooney disagrees with Neville over ‘the outstanding candidate’ to be next Man Utd manager
Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney has picked a different “outstanding candidate” to be the next Red Devils manager than former team-mate Gary Neville.
The Red Devils sacked Ruben Amorim last week as the club looked to go in a new direction after 14 months of negativity under the Portuguese head coach.
Amorim could only manage a 15th-placed finish in the Premier League last term and lost to Tottenham in the Europa League final.
Former Man Utd midfielder Michael Carrick has now been brought in as an interim boss until the end of the season before they appoint his permanent successor to Amorim in the summer.
There have already been plenty of potential managers mooted with Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner, former Barcelona head coach Xavi and newly-available Xabi Alonso all rumoured as options.
Gary Neville put current Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti as his top option as there are very few managers who can “tick” all the boxes needed to manage Man Utd.
READ: Xabi Alonso to Man Utd ‘plan’ ON as club spots his ‘potential’
Neville said on The Overlap: “With these last 12 years being a period of massive underperformance for Manchester United managers, there are certain boxes the next candidate now needs to tick.
“You have got to be pretty special to tick all four of those boxes and, as such, the outstanding candidate for me would be Carlo Ancelotti, even if it would mean potentially delaying his arrival until late July if Brazil reached the World Cup final.
“No-one comes as close to fulfilling everything laid out above than he does. Ironically, the club met with Carlo shortly before his [Sir Alex Ferguson’s] retirement in 2013 and we could have short-circuited this entire process, starting with him at the beginning of the cycle.
“But, by that stage, he was close to agreeing to joining Real Madrid for his first spell in charge and so what might have been a perfect appointment never happened.”
But Rooney reckons England head coach Thomas Tuchel would be the best option to take over from Amorim on a permanent basis.
MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
* Man Utd ‘on high alert’ after Xabi Alonso sack as Wilcox tasked with ‘convincing’ ex-Madrid boss
* Man Utd ‘target’ perfect £20m midfield signing – so how will Wilcox and Ratcliffe screw it up?
* ‘No-brainer’ – Rooney reveals he ‘would’ accept Man Utd coaching role under Carrick
Rooney said on his BBC podcast: “Long-term you hope Thomas Tuchel goes and wins the World Cup with England.
“He’d be one you’d certainly try and bring in. He’d be the one you’d look at.
“Whoever goes in now, it is an opportunity. Last time Ole went in as interim and got the job permanently. Whoever goes in now has an opportunity to go and show what they are worth.
“If not, Thomas Tuchel is the outstanding candidate.”
Outlining the four key criteria for any new Man Utd manager, Neville added: “You have to be able to handle the media and the noise which comes with this club. It is what it is so get over it and deal with it. It’s why you’re getting paid the big bucks.
“You have to show that you can have success getting into the top four, that you can cope with Champions League football and that you can get the best out of a group of players that will include egos and superstars.
“You must understand the Premier League and English football culture because it’s different to competing in many of the European leagues.
“You also have to understand the Manchester United way, which means you have to be a glass-half-full kind of manager. Be positive and prepared to take risks and play with pace and excitement. In all likelihood that is going to a variation of 4-4-1-1 / 4-2-3-1.”
READ NEXT: Man Utd ‘decision’ on Fletcher revealed as Carrick ‘set to bring in’ Southgate confidant as his No.2
